A blog for voice and opera students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

What type of clinician would you like SNATS to provide in Spring 2018?

Monday, February 10, 2014

If you have time...

...watch the Olympics! I say that not just because I grew up in the land of winter sports, but also because we learn from watching great athletes of all stripes. And yes, singers are vocal athletes! I've been posting on Facebook some of the ways I see sports and music parallel each other. Even if you have time to watch an hour, you might learn a great deal about preparation, focus, perseverance, and recovery...all good things for artists to master. Here's what I wrote last night:

Tonight's thought on Olympics as they relate to music performance: focus. Bode Miller, who probably should have won the gold based on his trials this week, placed 8th. Bearing in mind that we're only talking about .52 of a second, and that he's still one of the best in the world, it seems to have come down to his focus. His gaze was set high and distant right before leaving the gate, something heapparently never does when he skis his best. (Oddly enough, I noticed this: the commentators noted it later, which kind of blew my mind.) Keeping his gaze low and steady beforehand, just as we do in performance anxiety management, might have made the difference. Food for thought as we prepare for competition, singers!

What type of SNATS clinician would you like for FALL 2018?

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About Me

My name isn't as hard as it looks! Pronounce it like this: "Hurst" (that's the easy part) "Vice-Check." My students usually call me "Dr. Kris." Before joining UAB to teach voice and head the opera program, I taught voice and voice-related courses and served as the Director of Musical Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. While completing my doctorate at the University of Colorado-Boulder, I served as adjunct professor at Regis University, the University of Wyoming-Laramie, and CU-Boulder.